Where are Home Prices Headed Over the Next 5 Years?

Every quarter, Pulsenomics interviews over 100 economists and market experts in an attempt to create a forecast for the upcoming real estate market. Since there is a lot of buzz about a softening market, this quarter's predictions may shock you:

Home values will appreciate by 4.0% over the course of 2016, 3.4% in 2017 and 3.0% in the next two years, and finally 2.8% in 2020 (as shown below). That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.2% over the next 5 years.

The prediction for cumulative appreciation slowed slightly from 25.0% to 24.7% by 2020. The experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey are still projecting a cumulative appreciation of 9.9%.

What does this all mean? For one, the nervousness being sensed around the market is probably unwarranted. Secondly, it means you shouldn't hesitate to buy or sell since interest rates and inventory are still very low.